Mind Matters
by gladrags2012
Summary: The new team at MI High have to solve the mystery of Zoe's origins. Why did the Grand Master call her a 'secret weapon'. When a mission goes wrong and members of the team are kidnapped the mystery has to be solved before they lose one of the team.
1. Chapter 1

The new MI High team try to solve a seemingly simple case. Is the solution to the mystery, the Grand Master's secret weapon ?

Dan was sitting in another tedious class taught by Mr. Flatley. Mr. Flatley was wittering on about the origins of Morris Dancing in English history. Dan glanced around him. Roly was nodding at his desk, barely managing to fight off sleep. Aneisha seemed to be reading a book, balanced against her school bag on the desk. Zoe looked to be paying rapt attention as usual. This made Dan smile. She enjoyed every lesson and every new experience. It was part of what made her so attractive.

He glanced over at Tom, who seemed to be staring directly ahead, but not exactly focussed on Mr. Flatley. Had he learned to sleep with his eyes open ? Dan had heard of people who could do that. That would be such a useful skill for school. What was Tom doing ? His eyes were moving, but he wasn't following Mr. Flatley's movements. Dan's thoughts were interrupted by the period bell. The class gathered up their books and headed off towards the dinner hall.

Dan sidled up beside Tom. "What were you doing in class ?" Dan asked him.

"Nothing," said Tom defensively.

"Oh you so were !" accused Dan. "I could see you staring in front of you. You weren't watching Mr. Flatley and you weren't listening to him. What were you doing, playing mental chess or something ?"

"What ? No !" exclaimed Tom. He glanced around him, but there was now nobody in the corridor except himself, Dan, Aneisha and Zoe. He fiddled with his eyes, and pulled out what looked like a contact lens. "I'm just, erm, testing these," he explained.

"What are they ?" asked Zoe.

"They're 'Heads Up Contacts'," said Tom, grinning. "They're fantastic. You wear these and you can read books, surf the net or watch films. The image appears to be projected into the middle distance in front of you. I was re-reading one of the Blade Quest books. Isn't it brilliant ?"

The others groaned. "Can you see what's going on around you though ?" asked Aneisha.

"Well no, not really. That's the down side," said Tom regretfully. "You can't see anything else at all. You have to keep your ears open really if you want to avoid trouble. Actually, I'll have to take them out now. If I hadn't been following Dan, I would probably have walked into the door or something. It's kind of weird with just one in too. I'll take the other one out," he added.

"Does Frank know you have these ?" asked Aneisha.

"Well, someone had to test them," said Tom.

"Say no more," said Dan. "Let's get lunch."

Zoe stayed behind as Tom took out the last lens and put them both in their sterile solution in a box. "Can I try them ?" asked Zoe. Tom looked surprised and then smiled.

"I don't see why not," he said, handing them over. "Don't tell Frank though will you ? He probably won't like me handing them round, you know," he said, looking a bit sheepish. Zoe slipped them into her pocket.

"Thanks," she said, smiling. "I like new things."

"Where are you going ?" Tom asked surprised as Dan and Aneisha walked past him, back out of the dinner hall.

"Looked at your communicator in between reading books ?" asked Dan. Tom and Zoe looked and noticed that their pencil communicators were flashing. "Come on !" said Dan.

Frank gathered the team in the basement HQ. "Right team, we've been given an urgent mission. We've received intel that a criminal group are going to attempt a robbery at the Faslane nuclear submarine base," he explained.

"Don't the military police handle that sort of thing ?" asked Tom, puzzled.

"Well, they do normally, but this was a special request from the Defence Ministry," said Frank. "I don't know why, but they apparently want special protection. There will be armed guards there as well, but they want the criminals to be captured. Apparently they've successfully robbed a number of nuclear materials stores across Europe and the Government is desperate to make sure they are caught before their next meeting with the leaders of the other EU states."

"Do you know when they're likely to strike ?" asked Aneisha. "Only it's going to look a bit odd if we're off school for days on end waiting for these people to try to steal nuclear material."

"Well, luckily we got some really good information," said Frank looking very pleased with himself. "We have date and time of attack," he added. "It's at 8:30pm this evening."

"How did they manage to rob all these other countries if we know when they're coming to rob ours ?" asked Dan. "They sound like idiots."

"Well, I'd hardly call them idiots !" said Frank, sounding annoyed. "You could have a little more faith in MI9 Dan. We got this information from one of our regular informants. Apparently this little group of robbers have set up a few ripples amongst the criminal fraternity across Europe. They're not part of the existing gangs or groups and it's put a few noses out of joint. Hence our intel," he said, bouncing on his heels and grinning. Dan still looked doubtful, but stopped complaining and listened to Frank's briefing.

After school that day, the team gathered outside St. Heart's and climbed into the MI9 van which came to pick them up. Frank sat up front with the driver. Dan leant across to talk to the others in the back. "Is it just me, or does this seem much too easy ?" he asked.

"I must admit, it does seem kind of fishy," admitted Aneisha. "You'd think that if they had so much information to go on, the police could handle it on their own. I don't really see why they need us."

"Exactly. Look, we need to watch out for each other," said Dan so quietly that the others all had to lean in together to hear him. "I'm not happy about this. We've got to have each other's back OK ?" They all nodded and sat back. Frank looked round curiously at them, but didn't say anything.

They drove for over an hour into the mountainous countryside of the West coast of Scotland. It was dark by the time they arrived near the Faslane base. Aneisha opened up her bag and started pulling on motorbike leathers over her regular MI High uniform. Dan and Zoe pulled on black woollen hats to cover their hair and pulled on black backpacks. The van stopped in a layby on the edge of the Loch. Zoe and Dan jumped out and dashed down to the water's edge, dragging a large bundle. The van drove off. They tossed their bundle into the small waves lapping at the shingle beach and Dan pulled a cord. The bundle made a soft woofing noise and inflated itself into a small dinghy. Zoe place a couple of paddles into the boat and stepped in. Dan pushed the dinghy out a little and then jumped in himself.

The two of them paddled up towards a boat house, jutting out into the Loch. "Are you in position yet Dan ?" asked Tom's voice over their headsets.

"Nearly there," puffed Dan. "There's a bit of a head wind," he complained. Zoe continued paddling in silence.

"Aneisha's in place," said Tom. "The armed police are in position. I'm in the van with Frank." Dan rolled his eyes. It was alright for some people, he thought. His boots had got wet pushing the dinghy into the water and his feet were pretty cold now. Still, he didn't want to be sitting in a van staring at a computer screen. Even with cold feet, this was way more fun.

Finally they managed to get the dinghy through the waves to the boathouse. They paddled as quietly as they could up to the wooden structure. As they rounded the corner they could look inside the building and saw a powerful motor launch moored up beside the landing stage. The paddled their dinghy inside the building and tied it up underneath the landing stage where it would hopefully not be seen. They climbed out and ran to the back entrance door. It wasn't locked and they looked out. There was nobody in sight. "We're in position," Zoe whispered into the headset.

"OK team. Let's go !" instructed Tom. Dan and Zoe crouched down and watched as a motorbike roared up to the entrance of the large house behind the boat house. A figure wearing a crash helmet climbed off the back of the bike, picked up a box and walked up to the house entrance. They heard the distant sound of a doorbell ringing.

"Pizza delivery !" called out Aneisha's voice.

The door opened. "What is this ?" asked a voice. "We did not order pizza !" they said.

"Oh, maybe we've got the wrong address," said Aneisha, fumbling with a piece of paper she pulled out of her pocket. "Just a minute..." she said. On their cue, Dan and Zoe started running up towards the house. They saw the shadowy shapes of black-clad, armed policemen also running towards the house. Dan looked again and noticed that the policemen weren't running towards the house after all. They seemed to be running towards him and Zoe. He skidded to a stop and Zoe copied him.

"What's wrong ?" asked Zoe. She also looked at the armed men running towards them. "Oh," she said quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

The new MI High team try to solve the mystery of Zoe's origins. Was she really a product of KORPS and why was she held by SKUL ? Why did the Grand Master call her his secret weapon ? Seems I made some mistakes in the first chapter. Sorry, I obviously wrote it too quickly. Hopefully I've ironed out any nasties in this one.

_They saw the shadowy shapes of black-clad, armed policemen also running towards the house. Dan looked again and noticed that the policemen weren't running towards the house after all. They seemed to be running towards him and Zoe. He skidded to a stop and Zoe copied him._

"_What's wrong ?" asked Zoe. She also looked at the armed men running towards them. "Oh," she said quietly._

"Run !" hissed Dan. They both turned and ran back towards the boathouse.

"What's going on ?" asked Tom. "Where is everyone going ?"

"They're after us !" panted Dan. "Aneisha, get out of there fast !" He heard the roar of a motorbike setting off as he and Zoe reached the boathouse door. He flung it open and ran inside, shutting the door behind them. Now what ?

"Zoe, can you drive a boat ?" Dan asked.

"No. Can you ?" she asked.

"I don't know yet," he said. They both jumped on board the motor launch. Dan searched the dashboard looking for something obvious which would start the engine.

"You do have to untie the ropes before you set off," said a quiet voice beside him. "Otherwise you are likely to take the entire boathouse with you when you leave," they added. Dan spun round to find himself staring into the barrel of a gun. He looked round and Zoe had her hands behind her head. Dan did the same. "Thankyou for your co-operation," said the man with the gun. Armed men started to stream inside the boathouse and began jumping down into the boat. Dan and Zoe had their backpacks removed, their hands tied behind their backs and their headsets thrown into the water. Then they were both shoved down into a small cabin area at the front of the boat. They were each pushed onto a small bed at one end of the cabin. The boat's engines roared. They felt a sting on the backs of their necks and then everything went dark.

"What just happened ?" demanded a furious Aneisha. "Where are Dan and Zoe ?" she asked. She, Frank and Tom watched in horror as the large motor boat roared out of the boathouse and set off down the Loch at speed. "Oh no !" gasped Aneisha. Tom stared in shock.

"How ? What just happened," he stammered, looking at Frank. "They're both off the screen. Their trackers have gone," said Tom. Frank looked ashen.

"I think we've just made a terrible mistake," he said.

"Tom, do something !" said Aneisha desperately.

"Like what ? Oh, I know, satellite tracking," said Tom, madly typing on his laptop. "Maybe we can get some idea where they're going," he added. He muttered to himself and typed frantically on the keyboard, pulling up window after window on his screen. "There's got to be something up there !" he said in frustration.

Frank pulled out his phone. "It's Frank. This was all a hoax. We've been ambushed and Dan and Zoe have been kidnapped. Well I don't know do I ? The armed police turned out to be enemy agents. Yes please do ! They've set off in a motor launch down the Loch towards the sea. We've lost sight of them now. Well do something ! I've lost two of my agents !" he almost shouted into the phone. "Alright. Yes, I'm calming down. Stella, please do something," Frank pleaded. He rang off. "Any luck Tom ?" he asked.

Tom was close to tears. "I can't get into anything. There's nothing overhead at the moment that I can get into !" he hit his keyboard in frustration. "I'm really sorry !" he whispered.

Aneisha leaned over and put an arm round his shoulders. "It's not your fault Tom. Let Stella do something for us for a change OK. Can we go back to base please Frank ? It doesn't look like there's anything more we can do here," she said. Frank nodded miserably. He dismissed the motorbike rider and closed up the van. They drove back to base in silence. Back in HQ, Frank called Stella again. She appeared on the screen.

"Frank, I'm sorry. We haven't managed to find out very much. The motor launch was seen docking with a larger yacht out to sea, by the coastguard. The yacht travelled at some speed and left British coastal waters, so the coastguard weren't able to follow. We're trying to trace it using satellite imaging at the moment. You may as well take a break and let us handle it from here," she said. "I'm going to have to pull in a few favours. We'll find them Frank," she promised.

The call ended and Frank, Tom and Aneisha sat in silence for a minute. "Do you think this was all about getting Dan and Zoe ?" asked Aneisha. "It would explain how we had the date and time they were supposedly going to steal the nuclear material. Dan was right. They would have to have been idiots. Instead we were the idiots !" she said disgustedly.

"Who would want Zoe and Dan ?" asked Tom. "What do they know about ?"

"Zoe has some connection with KORPS doesn't she ? The Grand Master called her his 'secret weapon'," said Aneisha.

"We think so. That doesn't explain why they would take Dan too though," said Frank, tapping his fingers on the table absent-mindedly.

"It would if they want Zoe to do something. If they threatened Dan she'd do it wouldn't she ?" asked Aneisha.

The other two stared at her. "Oh I do hope that's not it," whispered Tom.

"Me too," said Aneisha.

Zoe woke up in an unfamiliar room. She could feel a low pitched throbbing noise rising through her body. The ground seemed to be swaying slightly from side to side. She glanced around and found herself lying on a single bed in a small room. Another single bed was on the other side of the room where Dan lay sleeping. She sat up. "Dan ? Are you awake yet ?" she asked. He didn't respond.

She sat on the edge of her bed and felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. She sat still and waited for it to pass which it did after a minute or so. Then she stood and stepped over to Dan's bed. He looked nice and peaceful when he was asleep, and much younger. She smiled at him. He stirred and his eyes opened. He saw Zoe smiling down at him and he smiled back. Then he looked puzzled and looked around. "Wha'," he said sitting up suddenly. He looked dizzy and fell back on to his pillow. "Ooh," he said, rubbing his head. "What happened ?"

"I think we're on a boat," said Zoe, "a bigger boat."

"The mission," said Dan. "We were set up."

"It looks like it," agreed Zoe. "What do they want us for ?"

"I don't know," said Dan. He sat up again, more slowly this time. He waited a minute and then got up and walked to the door. He shook the handle but it was locked. He looked back at Zoe's frightened face. Action was needed. "I'm not waiting to find out though. Let's get out of here," he said.

Dan examined the room. One door led to a small shower and toilet room. There was no window and the door was the only obvious exit. He felt in his pockets, but anything useful had been removed. There was a piece of paper which he folded and inserted it into the gap between the door and its frame and slid it round the door. The lock seemed to shoot a single bolt into the wall. It ought to be fairly simple to unlock. "Have you got any hair grips Zoe ?" he asked.

She pulled one out of her hair and came over to the door. "I'll try," she said. "I'm good at locks."

"You're good at a lot of things," said Dan.

Zoe opened the hair grip slightly and inserted one end into the lock. She moved it around in the lock for 20 seconds or so before they heard a soft click. They smiled at each other. Then she stopped. "Dan, if we're on a boat, how do we get off ?" she asked.

Dan shrugged. "Smaller boat ?" he suggested, eyebrows raised.

"OK," said Zoe. "Let's go !"


	3. Chapter 3

The new MI High team try to solve the mystery of Zoe's origins. Was she really a product of KORPS and why was she held by SKUL ? Why did the Grand Master call her his secret weapon ?

"_Dan, if we're on a boat, how do we get off ?" she asked._

_Dan shrugged. "Smaller boat ?" he suggested, eyebrows raised._

"_OK," said Zoe. "Let's go !"_

Zoe opened the door slowly, looking up and down a passageway lined with similar doors. It was empty so she opened the door and nodded to Dan. They stepped out into the corridor and as quietly as they could ran to the end and peered round the corner. They quickly swapped to the other side so they wouldn't be seen by a man in uniform walking past. Luckily he didn't see them. When he was out of sight, they turned the way he had come from and arrived at a metal staircase going up and down. They chose the stairs which took them up.

It was harder not to make a noise on the metal stairs. Zoe moved almost silently but Dan felt like he had become a three-legged elephant judging by the noise he made. They opened the door at the top of the stairs and heard voices, so they closed it again and stepped behind the hinges, crouching down near the floor. The door opened and two men walked through and bounded down the stairs. Again they were lucky and the men didn't look back to see the two agents dashing through the closing door. They could hear the sound of muffled voices through closed doors. Looking around them all the time they came to an open area with tables and windows looking out on to a deck. It was dark outside and all they could see were moonlit waves glistening outside. The swell was quite large, so they had to be quite far out to sea.

"Where would they keep the smaller launches ?" Zoe whispered to Dan.

"I don't know. Maybe at the back," Dan whispered back. "We need to keep moving. Come on !"

He grabbed her hand. He didn't really need to pull her along, but he wanted the comfort of her touch. Dan never liked to admit defeat, but their situation was looking more hopeless by the minute. He didn't want to let Zoe down so he had to keep trying.

A loud bell started ringing through the ship. Voices became louder and they could hear the sound of running feet. "That way !" shouted Zoe, pulling Dan towards a door behind them. Without checking they dashed through the door and shut it behind them, in time to hear footsteps thundering through the room they had just left. Their luck had just run out. Zoe and Dan turned to find themselves facing a group of men and women sitting around a long conference table covered in computers and documents. A tall, dark man stood at the head of the table.

"Well, what have we here ?" he said. He walked to a speaker on the wall, pressed a button and shouted, "Conference Room, NOW !" Almost immediately men ran into the room behind Dan and Zoe and their arms were pinned behind their backs. Dan tried to struggle, but it was useless. The guards just put more pressure on his arms until he had to let up before they broke his arm.

The tall man walked up to them both and stopped in front of Zoe. "So, we have our precious cargo," he announced. He stood back so that the others could see Zoe. "The Mastermind has been waiting for the arrival of Daughter. He will be pleased," he said.

"Daughter ? What do you want with her ?" demanded Dan. Zoe glanced over at him, looking fearful.

"That is none of your concern," said the man, speaking with a deep, silky voice. "She is to be transported safely to the Mastermind without damage. You however are a different matter," he said smiling into Dan's face. He walked over to Zoe and stroked her chin. She tried to pull back, but was held fast by the guards behind her.

"Your good friend here is our insurance policy. He will ensure that you do not try to escape, cause damage to this vessel or otherwise make a nuisance of yourself. If you fail to obey our orders we will deal with him. Do you understand ?" he asked. Zoe nodded. "No I don't think that you do," said the man. He waved his hand to the men holding Dan. One man punched Dan hard in the stomach. The air was knocked out of his lungs in a groan. There followed a rain of blows to his head, chest and stomach until he sank to the floor looking dazed and gasping for breath.

"Stop it ! Please stop it ! We won't do it again !" Zoe screamed. "I'll do whatever you say. Honestly I will," she pleaded, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The man held up his hand and the beating stopped. "Return them to their room. Leave some medical supplies," he instructed. "I do not expect to see you again until we arrive at our destination. Do you understand ?" he asked, leaning into Zoe's face. She nodded, still crying. "Take them back !" he ordered. Zoe and Dan were marched back to the bedroom they had escaped from. The guards dumped Dan on the end of his bed and left Zoe with a small box of antiseptic dressings and wipes.

She tried to wipe the tears from her eyes as she sat Dan upright and unzipped his jacket and slipped it off his shoulders as carefully as she could. He groaned as she moved his arms. Lifting his shirt she could see bruises starting to form on his ribs and stomach. She opened up the packets of wipes and started trying to clean up his bleeding face as gently as she could, cursing her shaking hands. "Dan, I'm so sorry," she whispered. "They've done this to you because of me."

Dan shook his head and winced. "No. They've done this because of what they want. It's nothing to do with you," he said. "I need to go to the bathroom," he added. Zoe helped him into the tiny room where he was sick into the toilet. He sat back down on his bed, visibly shaking.

"Why don't you get into bed ?" suggested Zoe. Dan nodded, but made no move. She reached down and took off his shoes for him, then she undid his belt and pulled down his jeans. He staggered into her slightly as he lost balance.

"Sorry," he muttered. Zoe hugged him as much as she dared, trying not to press any of the bruises. "I'm fine," he muttered.

"Lie down," she instructed, pulling the bed covers back behind him. He half sat and half fell on to the bed. Zoe lifted his legs in and pulled the covers over him. He lay shivering for a while and then fell asleep. Zoe sat looking at him sleeping for a while and then she got into her bed. Unable to sleep, she lay staring at Dan.

The next day was Saturday. Tom and Aneisha received a call from Frank first thing. "I need you both to come in. There's been a development," he said. They were there within half an hour. "Stella said she was going to call in a few favours and she wasn't kidding," said Frank. "The Navy used one of their military satellites to track down that ship which the coastguard saw leaving British waters last night. It's heading towards Iceland. There's nowhere else it could be going."

"Do the Icelandic government know anything about it ?" asked Aneisha.

"No they don't. That's not so surprising though," explained Frank. "They don't have a large population and effectively people have to take turns running the country. It's almost a part-time job there. They haven't seen a boat of that description docking on the main island so they suspect it may be headed for one of the smaller, outlying, uninhabited islands probably in the Vestmannaeyjar Islands. They've promised to try to locate it for us," explained Frank.

"The Vest .. what Islands ?" asked Aneisha. "I can't even pronounce it. How are we going to find it ?"

"Apparently it means the 'Westman Islands'," explained Frank. Meanwhile, the military are tracking the ship intermittently for us," said Frank.

"That's quite a favour Frank," said Tom. "Satellite time costs thousands of pounds doesn't it ?"

"Yes it does," said Frank. "We owe Stella."

"What can we do ?" asked Aneisha.

"Well, since we're pretty certain that they're heading for this Icelandic archipelago we want you two to fly out there," said Frank. "I'm going with you."

"My Mum's not always that observant, but I think she'd notice me going to Iceland for the weekend," said Aneisha.

"Ah, that's why we've organised a sleepover," said Frank smiling. Aneisha grinned back.

"Bring it on !" said Aneisha.

Tom looked slightly nervous. "OK. That's good," he said uncertainly.

"It's for the team Tom," said Aneisha.

"I know. I want them back too," said Tom defensively. "It'll be fine," he said. He seemed to be trying to convince himself, rather than Frank and Aneisha.


	4. Chapter 4

The new MI High team try to solve the mystery of Zoe's origins. Was she really a product of KORPS and why was she held by SKUL ? Why did the Grand Master call her his secret weapon ? Just had to take them somewhere interesting that I know nothing about. You'll never guess, but I've been researching Iceland.

"_Bring it on !" said Aneisha._

_Tom looked slightly nervous. "OK. That's good," he said uncertainly._

"_It's for the team Tom," said Aneisha._

"_I know. I want them back too," said Tom defensively. "It'll be fine," he said. He seemed to be trying to convince himself, rather than Frank and Aneisha._

Tom, Aneisha and Frank were sitting in a military aeroplane heading for Iceland. Tom was playing on his games console. Aneisha was reading a magazine. Frank was reading a book about Iceland. "Oh, this is interesting," he said. "Did you know that the word geyser in English comes from a geyser in Iceland called Geysir ?" He looked round at the others smiling with delight. Tom grunted but didn't look up from his console.

Aneisha looked at him and said, "Does it say anything about criminal masterminds ?"

"Well, no, but ..." Frank tailed off. Looking hurt he returned to his reading. Aneisha smiled slightly and carried on with her magazine. Frank was a bit like Zoe in his enthusiasms. She was interested in everything. Aneisha missed her.

Tom kept getting killed off in Level 2. This was pathetic. The trouble was, he was too distracted. He thought that Aneisha was right. She always read people's motivations so well. KORPS probably only wanted Zoe and Dan was just there to keep her in line. He didn't envy Dan one little bit today. Tom knew he had the edge on the technology, but it was usually Dan who came up with the plan. He hoped they were alright.

Frank cut into their thoughts. "We're nearly there. Keep strapped in. We'll be landing on an unpaved airstrip out in a remote part of the island. We didn't want to land at Keflavik Airport in case it drew any attention. As soon as he finished speaking they felt the plane start its descent. It dropped quite steeply and Tom had to hold his nose and swallow repeatedly to stop his ears popping.

They stepped out of the plane onto a windswept plain. The ground was packed down hard black gravel with little tufts of grass growing in spots through it. There were no trees. Tom looked around, staggered at how alien it looked. It looked like a set from a Doctor Who episode called "Desolate Planet" of something like that.

Frank called to them to help with their equipment. They put down their own bags and went back to help Frank with the bags and boxes filled with their gear. One of the air crew came out to help and soon there was a small mound of bags and boxes sitting on the ground next to the plane. The airman shook hands with Frank and closed the door behind him. The plane taxied away and took off within minutes.

When the noise of the plane's departure had diminished, Frank and the others looked around them. "Someone should be meeting us here," said Frank. There was one galvanised metal shed at the edge of the field, but there was no sign of life there. Frank pulled out his phone. Aneisha and Tom started pulling extra layers out of their bags and putting them on. The wind was bitingly cold. "Yes, yes we're waiting. OK. See you soon. Bye," said Frank. "They went to the wrong airfield," said Frank. "They think we went to the wrong airfield," he added, shrugging his shoulders.

Finally they saw a minivan coming over the horizon, heading in their direction. It pulled up beside their mound of luggage and a bearded man got out. "Frank London ?" he asked. Frank nodded. "Harald Haraldson," said the man, shaking hands with Frank. "OK, we put your stuff inside," said Harald. He eyed up the pile of stuff and looked doubtfully at his van. It took them nearly fifteen minutes to load all of the gear into the van. By the time they'd finished, the three of them had to squeeze into the remaining front seats. Aneisha hoped they didn't stop suddenly or they would all be killed by the avalanche of metal boxes and holdalls.

The road was unmade and rough and the ride was not smooth. Tom wasn't accustomed to this side of spy life and he was feeling tired and rather queasy. It took an hour to reach their destination once they reached the main road which circled the island. Harald dropped them off at a wooden cabin on the shore of a sea inlet on the west of the island. "Sorry we had to take the long route," he said. "A lava flow has cut through the short road. It will take a while to be fixed. No point when there is more lava coming."

A wiry, older bearded man came out of the cabin and spoke to Harald in Icelandic. He introduced himself in broken English to Frank and the others as Olafur. The five of them loaded their equipment into the cabin. Harald said goodbye and set off in his van. Tom and Frank started setting up their equipment. Aneisha contact HQ to report that they had arrived. She was put through to Stella who asked to speak to to them all on speaker. Tom connected her phone to the speakers.

"Team, we've got some information for you. Aneisha tells me you've met Olafur ? Olafur was asked to help us by his government. He is a local fisherman but he has also served in a Norwegian special commando unit. We need his local knowledge and skills to get you to your destination. We think we have located the secret KORPS base on the islands. We used satellite imaging to find a strange construction on one of the supposedly uninhabited islands in the Vestmannaeyjar Islands. The Icelandic government were unaware of it. If you have set up your satellite link, we will send you what information we have," said Stella. Tom dashed outside with a satellite dish. Olafur went out to help him.

"Any news on the boat with Zoe and Dan ?" asked Aneisha.

"No change," said Stella. "Still heading towards Iceland. We estimate it will arrive around 8pm tonight GMT."

"What time is it in Iceland ?" asked Aneisha.

"It's the same," said Stella. Aneisha was surprised.

Tom returned to say the satellite connection was ready. Screens of information started to pour across his laptop. Stella wished them luck and closed the call. The three agents looked at one another. Frank spoke to Olafur. "Could we set out this evening Olafur ? I'm worried that there won't be a lot of time to recover our agents once they arrive in Iceland," he asked the older man.

Olafur nodded. "I will have the boat ready for you," he said. "You make yourselves ready." Frank thanked him. Olafur then offered to make them a meal which they gratefully accepted.

Frank, Aneisha and Tom started working through the information which Stella had sent them. The satellite images were the most interesting. They showed a small complex of buildings huddled together on the western side of a small island. Frank called Olafur over to look and asked if he knew where this island was. He opened up a chart of the small islands and they found the coordinates for him. He pointed to a small island of the same shape on his map. "Here," he said, marking the map with a cross. "There is nothing on this island," he added.

Tom compared it with the satellite image. "Well there is now !" he said. He paused as something occurred to him. "Frank ?" he asked. "How are we going to get there ?"

"Well, we can only get there by boat," said Frank. "Why ?"

"It's just that, I get really sea-sick," admitted Tom.

"Don't worry. I brought some motion-sickness tablets," assured Frank. "You'll be fine Tom."

Later that day, after a meal consisting mainly of fish, with pickled cabbage and potatoes they set out in Olafur's boat. It looked like an ordinary fishing boat, but was surprisingly fast. It was still light and since it was nearly mid-summer, would not get properly dark, even at midnight. Tom had brought what equipment he thought he could carry. He was feeling guilty because he'd never worried about the weight of equipment he loaded the rest of the team with when they headed out on field work. Maybe in future, he should ask them first. Frank had handed out sea-sickness tablets to Aneisha and Tom and took some himself. He said there was no point in them getting ill before they got there. It turned out to be a good call, because the sea was quite heavy and the boat bounced and rolled all the way to the island.

Frank kept lookout with his binoculars as they neared the island. Olafur slowed the boat as they motored round the island coast. Frank raised his hand and Olafur slowed the engines until the boat came to a near standstill. The others pulled out binoculars to get a view. A large boat was docking at a jetty projecting into the sea. Frank motioned Olafur to move closer to the island shore, which he did. "Can we get ashore here Olafur ?" Frank asked. The older man surveyed the shore and pointed to a small inlet. "That'll do. Thanks," said Frank. As the boat pulled in, Frank jumped ashore and Olafur tossed him a rope. Frank found a projecting rock to tie the boat to. Then they secured the back of the boat in the same way. Aneisha tossed Frank his backpack. Then she and Tom put on theirs and clambered out of the boat with Frank's help. The three scrambled up the shore a little way until they had a clearer view of the docked boat. Lying flat and holding their binoculars, they had a fairly clear view of the activity on the jetty. Steps were lowered from the boat to the jetty and people started to disembark. Then some equipment started to be unloaded and various supplies. Finally, all three took deep breaths as they watched a familiar red-head and blond being led down the steps to the shore. Zoe walked with her head bowed and appeared to be holding Dan's arm. Then they disappeared from view.

"Right, we need to get moving," said Frank. "I don't think we have much time."


	5. Chapter 5

The new MI High team try to solve the mystery of Zoe's origins. Was she really a product of KORPS and why was she held by SKUL ? Why did the Grand Master call her his secret weapon ?

_Finally, all three took deep breaths as they watched a familiar red-head and blond being led down the steps to the shore. Zoe walked with her head bowed and appeared to be holding Dan's arm. Then they disappeared from view._

"_Right, we need to get moving," said Frank. "I don't think we have much time."_

Zoe woke with surprise when the door of the cabin opened. A man with a gun came in, checked the two agents and then motioned to a woman behind him who brought in a tray with food and drink. She left and another woman with clothes and towels came in and left them on the end of Zoe's bed. "We reach our destination in two hours. Get ready !" instructed the man, closing and locking the door.

Zoe looked across at Dan, who had also woken. He was shakily pulling himself up in bed. Zoe jumped up and pulled his pillows up behind him. "You stay there. Can you eat some food ?" she asked. Dan nodded. She brought some of the food and a glass of water over to him. He picked up the glass with both hands and drank all of the water.

"Thanks," he said. He looked up at Zoe. "Are you OK ?" he asked.

"I'm fine. They didn't touch me," she said.

"I don't mean that. I mean, being locked up," said Dan.

"Oh ! I hadn't really thought about it," admitted Zoe. "I was too worried about you. They really hit you ..." she tailed off. The upset in her voice was clear. Dan waved her over. She sat down next to him and he pulled her close.

"I'm going to get better, OK ?" said Dan softly into her ear. "I'll be a bit more lively soon, then they'll be sorry they messed with us won't they ?" He smiled at her and winced slightly. There was a cut on his top lip. She touched his face as gently as she could. There was a cut above his right eye which was partly closed and a shining bruise on his left cheek. His nose had bled and his left ear looked swollen. "I'm not ready for my close-up right now," he joked. "Let's have something to eat."

Zoe jumped up and he noticed for the first time that she wasn't wearing any trousers. He lifted his blankets and realised that he wasn't wearing trousers either. "Did you erm ?" he asked, waving his hands at his bare legs.

"Yes. You couldn't sleep in your jeans could you ?" she said.

Checking that she wasn't looking, he lifted his shirt quickly to make sure he had his underpants on. Phew ! Still there. He quickly pulled the shirt back down and smiled when she returned with a plate of food each. "Thanks. You don't have to look after me. I'll get up in a minute," he said. She had really nice legs. She had really nice everything. Dan admitted to himself that he thought she was absolutely gorgeous. Steady boy ! He was locked in a small room with the loveliest girl in the world. Fortunately, he felt like hell. All he had to do was eat, have a shower and get dressed without letting on. No pressure then.

They ate their food slowly. Zoe was too busy worrying about what was going to happen next. Dan's face hurt. When they'd finished Zoe rummaged through the clothes they had been left. There was a set that looked like it would fit Dan reasonably well and another set for Zoe. Dan suggested she shower first. She took a couple of towels and went into the small shower room. Dan took the opportunity to climb stiffly out of bed. His ribs complained at the movement. He pulled up his shirt to inspect the damage. It wasn't pretty. He pulled his shirt back down. All he wanted to do was lie down on the bed and keep as still as possible. He wasn't going to be able to do that. Zoe came out of the shower room swathed in towels with a large silver locket swinging round her neck. Dan stood slowly and tried to straighten, but he couldn't help groaning softly as his ribs shifted. Zoe didn't seem to notice.

With Dan safely in the shower room, Zoe allowed herself a tear or two. She could see he was trying to disguise how much pain he was in. It was killing her pretending not to notice. What did these people want her to do ? What would Dan say ? He'd probably say to deal with one problem at a time. Zoe dried her hair and got dressed. She'd been given black leggings and a black top. She could put her black coat on over the top. Dan stuck his head out of the shower room and asked if she would pass him his clothes.

"Dan, there's no need. You might as well get dressed out here. I know you have bruises," said Zoe.

Dan shifted uneasily. "Would you please pass me some underpants Zoe ?" he asked, pointedly.

"Oh, of course," she said, handing him the pants and a shirt.

"Thanks," he said, closing the door. A minute later he came out wearing the shirt and pants. He sat on the bed while he bent slowly to put on his socks. He glanced up to see Zoe staring at him. "Zoe, it's a small room. Would you mind sort of looking somewhere else for a minute ?" he pleaded.

"Why ?" asked Zoe. "You have a nice body you know," she added, out of the blue.

Dan blushed bright red. "Erm, thanks. Um, so do you," he said. He reached for the trousers, which were a plain black combat type. The effort of showering, drying and dressing this far had left him exhausted. He sat panting for a moment and then Zoe took the trousers and pulled them over his feet and up to his knees for him. "Thanks," he said. He hated being such a wimp. He stood and pulled the trousers up, not bothering to tuck in the shirt and then sat down again.

"That's a nice locket," he said. "Who gave you that ?"

Zoe lifted it up. "I don't know. I've always had it," she said.

"Is there a picture inside ?" Dan asked. She opened it and showed him a picture of a little girl with red hair.

"Oh, it's you," he said, smiling.

Zoe put the locket away and then bent down to put Dan's shoes on for him. "Thanks Zoe. You're a really kind girl you know," said Dan. She looked up at him and smiled. He wanted to hold her tight and kiss her and tell her everything was going to be fine. Only he knew that everything wasn't going to be fine. It would only be a lie. "We'll think of something Zoe. Frank and the team will find us, I'm sure of it," he said.

Zoe put on her own shoes just before the door was opened. One of the guards pointed his gun at them. "Come now !" he ordered, waving them towards the door. Dan stood and hissed out a breath as he straightened. He walked to the door and Zoe followed. When they reached the stairs, Zoe took his arm and helped him up the stairs. They were led out of the boat and down a gangplank to a jetty. A stiff wind whipped around them and Zoe pulled her coat close around her. She took Dan's arm and they walked side by side up the jetty towards the entrance to a building.

They walked through corridors, twisting and turning back and forth. "How big is this place ?" wondered Dan. "You'd think somebody would notice it wouldn't you ? I wonder where we are." They were taken through a door into a large open room with a high ceiling. It was laid out like a laboratory with benches and large amounts of electrical equipment and computers. In the centre of the room was a large contraption covered in wires and pipes with what looked like dry ice coming out of the bottom in wispy clouds. On the opposite side of the room was a large metal cage containing some narrow padded benches. A door to the cage was opened and they were pushed inside. Two guards positioned themselves at either side of the cage.

Zoe stood at the bars at the front of the cage, staring at the room in front of them. Dan sat down heavily on one of the benches. This place looked like his worst nightmare. What was all this stuff for and why did they want Zoe ?

There was a flurry of activity at one end of the room as a small group of people entered. The tall dark man from the boat came first. He was followed by an older man in a white lab coat and then someone in an electric wheelchair followed by another small group of people. The tall dark man barked out an order, "Bring them out !" The door was opened and the guards gestured with their guns. Dan heaved himself off the bench and followed Zoe out of the cage. They were separated and their arms pinned behind their backs by the guards.

The wheelchair owner glided up to Zoe and stopped. Sitting in the chair was a shrunken old man, whose head slumped to one side, his breath wheezing through a breathing mask. He seemed to be using his eyes to operate some sort of console in front of him. A speaker was attached to his chair. A deep, booming voice came from the speaker on the chair. "At last. You have brought me my daughter. You have done well, Mandible. That snake the Grand Master, as he called himself, has kept my property for too long. Now we can at last complete our work !"

"What do you want with her ?" demanded Dan. The guard holding him twisted his arm viciously, making him grunt in pain.

"Quiet boy ! You are a mere pawn in my game," boomed the man in the wheelchair. He turned to Zoe. "You will achieve your destiny," he said.

"Who are you ?" asked Zoe.

"I, am the Mastermind. I am KORPS," said the old man. "And you, are my daughter. You were created for one purpose only. You are my genetic match and you will be my successor !" he announced.

"I'm never going to join KORPS !" declared Zoe.

"You are not going to join KORPS," laughed the old man. "You are going to be KORPS !"


	6. Chapter 6

The new MI High team try to solve the mystery of Zoe's origins. Was she really a product of KORPS and why was she held by SKUL ? Why did the Grand Master call her his secret weapon ?

"_I, am the Mastermind. I am KORPS," said the old man. "And you, are my daughter. You were created for one purpose only. You are my genetic match and you will be my successor !" he announced._

"_I'm never going to join KORPS !" declared Zoe._

"_You are not going to join KORPS," laughed the old man. "You are going to be KORPS !"_

Frank, Tom and Aneisha watched as the doors closed behind Zoe and Dan. More boxes and supplies continued being unloaded from the ship and were piling up near the jetty. Tom had pulled out a miniature computer and was fiddling with an antenna. "Frank, do you think you could get this antenna near to the facility for me please ?" asked Tom. "I'm going to try to pick up any radio signals if I can."

"Good idea Tom," said Frank. "Hang on." Frank worked his way carefully across the rocks and managed to balance the small antenna high on some rocks overlooking the base. When he got back, Tom was tuning into different frequencies and listening to the traffic being generated within the base.

"There's some general communications stuff going out to other KORPS divisions," he said. "Wait, this one isn't so strong. It's only a short range communications signal. I think it's broadcasting audio. Give me a sec and I'll get it on speaker," he said. They listened in horror to the voice of the Mastermind, sounding deep but tinny through their tiny speaker.

"I, am the Mastermind. I am KORPS. And you, are my daughter. You were created for one purpose only. You are my genetic match and you will be my successor !" said the voice. There was a pause. "You are not going to join KORPS, you are going to be KORPS !" it continued. "Get everything ready. Doctor, I want to complete the transfer tonight. I am tired of this useless body !" declared the voice.

"You will do as you are told !" said the Mastermind. "If you do not, you will watch your friend die very slowly and painfully. Perhaps you would like a demonstration ? No ? Then do as you are told girl. I would have preferred a male host, but our great neuro-scientist who invented this process decided a girl would be genetically stronger. You will have to do," he said.

There was a horrified silence among the small group on the rocks. "That's ….. vile !" exclaimed Aneisha. "He can't just take someone else's body off them. How is he going to put himself inside Zoe anyway ? Are they going to do a brain transplant ? What's going to happen to Zoe ?" she asked.

"And Dan," pointed out Tom. "Once they've done what they want to Zoe, they'll just kill Dan, won't they Frank ?" he asked. Frank nodded sadly.

"You two need to get inside," said Frank. Aneisha and Tom looked at one another nervously. "I know. It's going to be dangerous," said Frank. "I'm going to try to get some help. Take what equipment you think you'll need. I think we've got a short window to get you inside," he said, pointing at the piles of boxes on the quayside.

"I've got everything I need," said Tom.

"Me too," said Aneisha. "Come on. Let's do it Tom." Without further discussion with Frank, the two teens crept over the rocks towards the quay. After a quick search they found a long low box filled with packing material. Keeping an eye open for trouble, they pulled out most of the packing material and stuffed it down between some rocks. Aneisha lasered some holes in the side of the wooden box, so that they would be able to breathe. After moving the equipment inside around a bit, there was just enough room for them both to squeeze inside. They pulled the lid down just in time as a team of men came out with trolleys to take the rest of the goods inside the facility. Their case was wheeled inside along with the rest. Frank breathed a sigh of relief and dashed back to talk to Olafur.

After the Mastermind left the room, Dan and Zoe were thrust back into their caged room. They sat down silently, side by side on one of the benches, staring in front of them. Then in unison they turned and wrapped their arms around one another, faces buried in one another's shoulders. Dan could feel Zoe's heart beating through his chest. Zoe could feel Dan shaking slightly in her arms.

"I'm going to do what they want Dan," said Zoe.

"No, it's not fair ! They can't make you do this," said Dan in despair.

"I can't let them kill you," said Zoe.

"Once you've done what they want, they'll kill me anyway," said Dan. "I can't let them use me to destroy you. I won't !" he whispered.

Zoe let go of him, gently pulling herself away. "I want you to have something," she said. She took off her coat, and pulled the locket up from inside her top. She unclipped it and looped it round Dan's neck.

"Zoe, you mustn't. You need it. It's your history," said Dan, lifting the locket and its heavy silver chain in his hand.

"I want you to have it. I won't need it any more will I ?" said Zoe, smiling sadly at him. She unzipped his jacket, and pushed the locket down inside his shirt. "Please keep it for me ?" she asked. Dan gathered her back into his arms and they sat silently holding one another for minutes.

"Oh how delightful. A shame to break up you young lovers, but we have work to do," said a clipped voice. Dan and Zoe turned to see the man in the white coat standing outside the cage. "I am Doctor Schneider. You must be prepared. Bring them out please !" he instructed the guards. Dan stood in front of Zoe, determined to stop them hurting her somehow. Two guards came in and dragged Dan out into the room. "Tie the boy to something !" ordered the Doctor. Dan tried to put up a fight, but he was weakened already and the two men were quite easily able to strap his wrists to the bars of the cage. They tied another strap round Dan's waist, pulling it tightly. He grunted as the strap pressed into the bruises on his stomach. He twisted his head to see Zoe being led out of the cage by another guard.

"Stop hurting him ! I will do what you want," implored Zoe.

"Bring her here," instructed the Doctor. "Now, young lady you are standing in front of a marvel of modern science. It is the only one of its kind. The possibility of transferring consciousnesses between bodies was proposed about twenty years ago. It has been my life's work to realise its potential. We have had some partial successes, but tonight we expect to achieve our first full consciousness transplant," said the Doctor, speaking quickly and excitedly.

"How does it work ?" asked Zoe, looking curious.

"Ah, well it takes information from the visual cortex of the donor subject and plays them into the visual cortex of the recipient subject. That will be you of course," he explained.

Zoe frowned. You are going to put him into my mind through my eyes," she said.

"Essentially, yes," said the Doctor, looking very pleased with himself. Dan could have punched his self-satisfied face.

"Am I really his daughter ?" asked Zoe. "How was I born ?" she asked.

"Well, the Mastermind knew he had a degenerative illness and wanted to use our technology to prolong his life," explained the Doctor, tapping his fingers together. "We decided that the most successful transfer would be between two genetically close subjects. Hence you were created with a host mother using the Mastermind's DNA," he explained.

"I have a mother ?" asked Zoe.

"A mother ? Oh, I don't know. That doesn't matter," said the Doctor dismissively. "I need you to relax," he said, pulling out a device and pressing it to Zoe's neck. It hissed and Zoe jumped. "Now, be a good girl and go and sit down until we are ready for you," instructed the Doctor. Looking a little dazed, Zoe walked slowly back to the cage. They didn't bother to shut the door this time. Dan had to strain to see her behind him. He saw her sit on the bench and pull something out of her coat pocket. Then she held her face in her hands. When her hands dropped away, her eyes looked glassy. He couldn't bear it.

"How can you do this to a living, breathing human being ?" Dan demanded. "She's just a girl. She has her whole life ahead of her. It's not right !" he declared.

"You know nothing boy. She was only created for this purpose. Keep quiet or I will see to it that you are made quiet," threatened the Doctor. "I am busy."


	7. Chapter 7

The new MI High team try to solve the mystery of Zoe's origins. Was she really a product of KORPS and why was she held by SKUL ? Why did the Grand Master call her his secret weapon ?

"_How can you do this to a living, breathing human being ?" Dan demanded. "She's just a girl. She has her whole life ahead of her. It's not right !" he declared._

"_You know nothing boy. She was only created for this purpose. Keep quiet or I will see to it that you are made quiet," threatened the Doctor. "I am busy."_

Aneisha was desperate to escape their hiding place. The equipment in the box was digging into her in so many places. She kept an eye to one of the air holes she had drilled in the side of the box. Finally, the box stopped moving and bounced on to the floor from its trolley. "Right, leave it in here for now. We won't need this stuff until later. Everyone's going to be watching the Mastermind's transference on the screens. I don't want to miss it," said a voice. Aneisha heard the sound of a door closing. She waited for a minute and nobody else came into the room.

"Tom !" she whispered. "Let's get out of here."

"Amen to that," came Tom's muffled voice. They both gently pushed up on the lid and it popped off its remaining nails. They dropped their backpacks on the floor and then climbed quickly out. "We'd better put the lid back," said Tom. The two agents picked up the lid and shoved it back down hard on top of the box. "That'll do," said Tom. "If we're not out of here before those two come back, we've failed. Come on !"

They put on comms headsets, Aneisha pulled out her Spy-pod and Tom took out a listening device. He put the device up against the door. He quickly grabbed Aneisha and pushed her back against the wall behind the door. The door swung open and a man in uniform stepped inside. "No, it's not in here. You must have left it outside," said the man. "Come on. I don't want to miss tonight's action. They're going to start in twenty minutes, according to Ari. Let's get in front of one of the screens." He stepped out of the room and the door swung shut behind him.

"We've got twenty minutes !" said Aneisha. "We've got no chance !"

"We've got twenty minutes to give ourselves a chance," said Tom firmly. "Come on !" He listened at the door again and then carefully opened it. He waved Aneisha forward and then the two dashed out of the door and along the corridor. They passed a deserted desk at the side of the corridor. "Let's look in here," said Tom. "There might be something useful." There was. A map of the facility was pinned up behind the desk. Aneisha traced a route up from the quayside to the storage cupboard where they had started from.

"We must be here," she said, pointing at the map. She heard footsteps coming near. "Get down," she hissed. The two agents ducked down behind the desk, hoping that nobody was coming back there. They were in luck and the steps walked on past the desk without anyone seeing them. Under the desk was a pile of white lab coats. Aneisha pulled a couple out. "Here, put one of these on. It might help us blend in a bit," she said.

"Good idea," agreed Tom, pulling the white coat over his black clothes. They stood up and studied the map again. "I think we need to head here," said Tom, pointing to a large open area, marked 'experimental transfer facility'.

"More like 'totally mental transfer facility'," snorted Aneisha derisively. She pulled out a pair of spectacles from her pack and put them on.

"What are they for ?" asked Tom.

"Just getting into character," said Aneisha. She did look weirdly different with them on. Doctor Drama was doing her stuff. Tom shrugged and they headed in the direction of the 'transfer facility'. They weren't the only ones and soon found themselves at the back of a small crowd of people shuffling towards the same place. Tom looked at Aneisha and raised his eyebrows. She shrugged and smiled. Nobody challenged them as they shuffled into a large room behind all the other KORPS staff. Someone told everybody to stay over to one side of the room and they drifted back with the others against the wall at the end of the room. Aneisha slowly moved herself over to one side of the crowd.

She lifted her hand to her mouth when she saw Zoe sitting in the cage, glassily staring into space ahead of her and Dan tied to the bars of the cage, looking sick. She looked round to Tom, and nodded him over. He slowly made his way over and looked in the direction of her gaze. She heard his sharp intake of breath.

They heard the hum of an electric wheelchair and people in the crowd started to strain forward and move slightly to get a better view. Tom and Aneisha slipped back in the opposite direction until they were leaning against the wall itself. "What are we going to do ?" whispered Aneisha.

"I don't know. I need to think," said Tom. "Let's see what happens next." Not wanting to draw attention to themselves, Aneisha made out that she too was watching the scene unfolding in front of her. She had to disguise her horror.

The man in the white coat who had been fiddling with the equipment greeted the person in the wheelchair. "Mastermind, these people have come to watch. Do you want me to send them away ?" he asked.

"No !" boomed the Mastermind's voice. "KORPS must witness my transformation. There must be no dissenters !" He took his chair up to the equipment in the centre of the room. "I am ready," he said. The man in the white coat connected wires to the wheelchair itself. Then he placed some sort of headset over the head of the Mastermind.

"Bring the girl," the scientist instructed the guards. Two guards went into the cage and each took one of Zoe's arms. They led her out towards the large piece of equipment in the centre of the room, but she seemed to be trying to walk away from it. "Do not resist girl !" shouted the man in the white coat. "Punish her !" he instructed the guards. They spun Zoe around to face the cage. Everyone moved away from the cage and one guard walked up to Dan, holding a short white stick. He waved it at Dan and an electrical discharge shot out of the end of the stick. Dan stiffened and screamed until the guard stepped away and then he slumped forward against the straps tying his wrists and waist, apparently unconscious.

Zoe sobbed and held her hands to her face. "Please stop. Just get on with it," she begged. The guards pulled her to the machine. She was pushed into a chair in the centre of the device, her wrists and ankles strapped in and a headset similar to the Mastermind's placed over the top half of her face.

"We will begin," stated the man in the white coat. He flicked a switch and the machines started to hum.

Aneisha stood with her hand over her mouth and silent tears rolling down her face. "Tom," she whispered. "We've got to stop it. Somehow !"

Tom's mouth was dry. His mind was in a flat panic. What should he do ?

"We're just standing here watching them both be killed !" whispered Aneisha desperately.

Tom pulled out his mini-computer and started monitoring the signals coming from the mind transplant device in the room. None of it made sense. Frustrated he looked at the machines more closely. Everyone in the crowd was craning for a better view so nobody noticed him. He saw that plumes of dry ice were coming from the bottom of the machine holding Zoe. It had to be some sort of super-cooling system. Perhaps the machine was heat sensitive. "Aneisha, can you see the thermostat ?" he asked.

"What ?" she asked baffled.

"The thermostat. We could try turning up the heat," Tom whispered in her ear. Aneisha had no idea why, but she was prepared to go with it. They both looked around and Aneisha spotted a small white box on the wall behind them, near to the door. She pointed, and Tom nodded. He raised his hand up in the air. Aneisha sauntered along the wall, making it look as if she were trying to get a better view of the equipment. Tom checked that nobody was watching and then nodded to Aneisha. She flipped open the box lid and pressed the button marked '+' until the temperature setting reached its maximum. She flipped the box closed again. Nobody had noticed them. She sauntered back to Tom's side.

"Now what ?" Aneisha asked.

"We wait," said Tom, checking the readings on his computer. The room temperature started to rise. They had good heating in this place ! He was impressed. If you altered a thermostat at St. Heart's you could wait 6 months for a change in temperature. He saw that larger streams of dry ice were now coming out of the base of Zoe's machine. It was starting to struggle. The scientist in the white coat wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Hm. It is getting a little warm," muttered the man in the scientist. The lights in the room dimmed slightly. Large streams of vapour were pouring from the mind machine now. "No, no, this is not good. The machine is starting to overheat. More power to the super-cooling !" he ordered. The lights in the room dimmed significantly. There was a nervous murmur amongst the people watching.

One of the guards spoke. "What do you want us to do with the boy now ?"

"Oh, you can kill him. We don't need him any more, Dump his body out to sea later. Nobody will find it," said the scientist, dismissively.

The guard nodded and walked up to Dan's body. Suddenly, the lights went out. Aneisha and Tom moved to rush the guard heading for Dan, but were too late. The flash of the electrical discharge shone out, a ring of sparks lit up round Dan's neck and then stopped. He hung, lifeless from the bars of the cage.

"No !" screamed a voice. Tom turned to Aneisha, thinking that it had been her, but she was looking puzzled.

"Who was that ?" Aneisha asked.


	8. Chapter 8

The new MI High team try to solve the mystery of Zoe's origins. Was she really a product of KORPS and why was she held by SKUL ? Why did the Grand Master call her his secret weapon ?

"_No !" shouted a voice. Tom turned to Aneisha, thinking that it had been her, but she was looking puzzled._

"_Who was that ?" Aneisha asked._

"You will pay for that !" the voice shouted. It was Zoe. She had wrenched herself free from the machine which was belching out dry ice steam. She tore at her eyes and ran towards Dan. "Noooo !" she screamed.

She grabbed the discharge rod from the shocked guard and hit him with one of his own shots. He collapsed, screaming. The scientist ran backwards shouting, "No ! How is this possible ? Nobody can resist the machine !" Zoe ran at him brandishing the discharge rod and the scientist ran out of the room. Zoe charged at the machine and zapped it repeatedly with the rod. It started spewing sparks and gave out a screech whose pitch was getting higher and higher.

"Tom ! It sounds like it's going to blow up !" shouted Aneisha. People started running from the room. The heat was now unbearable. The only light in the room was from flashes and sparks being generated by the stressed machines. "We need to get Zoe and Dan," Aneisha shouted over the noise. Tom ran to Dan and cut through the cords tying him to the cage. He fell and Tom struggled to catch him before he hit the floor. Aneisha had run to Zoe and was shouting at her to stop, trying to pull her back. Zoe was screaming hysterically and attacking the machines with the discharge rod.

"I need help with Dan !" shouted Tom. This finally made Zoe stop. She turned and saw Tom kneeling beside Dan's prone form. She ran over to them, as did Aneisha.

"Dan !" she whimpered.

"There's some kind of stretcher over there," said Tom, pointing. He ran over to the corner of the room and came back with a simple canvas stretcher. "Come on. We need to get out of here !" he shouted. Aneisha helped him load Dan on to the stretcher. Zoe stood sobbing.

"They've killed him !" she howled.

"Come on !" shouted Tom. "We can't help him here !"

Aneisha pulled a torch from her backpack. Zoe grabbed one end of the stretcher and Tom grabbed the other. With Aneisha in the lead they ran from the room, heading down the corridor to the exit. All the corridors were dark and people were running in all directions in a panic. "Run ! It's going to blow !" shouted Aneisha, successfully generating even more panic and confusion.

Shortly they ran out into the cold outdoors. There were crowds of people about. Aneisha led them to the side where they had hidden in the box earlier. There were still a few crates piled up. Aneisha's communicator beeped. It was Frank.

"Well done team ! You need to take cover. The cavalry is coming," he said.

Aneisha waved them behind the crates. They ran behind the crates, and gently put Dan's stretcher down on the ground. Zoe and Aneisha pulled the crates closer together to give themselves some more protection. Zoe gently lifted Dan's head and cradled it in her lap, stroking his hair. Her hand brushed his neck and she froze. "Wait, he's not dead !" she whispered. "He's not dead," she screamed out to the others. Grins broke out on everyone's faces. Aneisha and Tom each grabbed one of Dan's wrists. There was a pulse. It wasn't a very strong pulse, but he was still alive ! Aneisha and Tom hugged one another. Zoe kissed Dan's forehead. Tears of happiness were now rolling down her cheeks.

A gunshot suddenly rang out over their heads and they all ducked down, instinctively trying to cover Dan. "Where did that come from ?" demanded Aneisha. They peered round the edge of the crates to see what was going on. A crowd of KORPS staff were ducking for cover where they could, or rushing up the gangplank to the big ship. Some guards were returning fire on a flotilla of all sizes of fishing boats which was approaching them. Aneisha turned round to see Frank and Olafur waving from the rocks near their boat. "This must be the cavalry," laughed Aneisha. "Cool !"

"More like an Armada !" said Tom, grinning from ear to ear. All the different boats had men and women standing with all types of shotguns. They were firing at the KORPS people and ducking to avoid being hit themselves. Someone shouted through a loud-hailer in Icelandic. This seemed to have no effect as the panic on the landing stage continued and the shooting continued. Then someone else shouted through the loud-hailer in broken English.

"Stop KORPS ! Surrender and you will be unharmed !" shouted the voice. There was a pause and some muttering before another voice shouted out, "And get off our island !"

This caused a pause in shooting from the KORPS guards. There was some discussion among the people on the jetty and then they all started making a run for the boat. People pushed each other out of the way trying to get on first. The boat's engines roared into life, the ropes tying it to the jetty were untied and people still on land started shouting and screaming. Two people carrying a stretcher ran from the building and headed for the gangplank. A man ran in front shooting anyone who got in their way.

"Is that the Mastermind ?" asked Aneisha. "Should we try to stop them ?" she asked.

"Stay where you are team !" said Frank over their headsets. "Let the locals handle this now. This is their territory."

The stretcher carrying the shrunken body was the last thing to get on the boat. It's engines roared and the boat set off, leaving many of the KORPS staff behind, some of them dead.

Fishing boats started docking at the jetty and men jumped out pointing guns at the KORPS people. Sensing that they were now outnumbered, they started to surrender. Everyone ducked as a huge explosion ripped through the centre of the building complex. Zoe, Tom and Aneisha huddled close to the crates, trying to protect Dan from further injury. They then noticed that two people were standing over them. It was Frank and Olafur.

"Frank ! We need to get Dan to a hospital," said Aneisha. She looked at Zoe who was shaking and stroking Dan's head distractedly. "I think maybe Zoe does too," she added quietly.

"I have requested the rescue helicopter," said Olafur quietly. "This will be a much better way to take your friend to hospital I think." A few minutes later a helicopter flew overhead. There was nowhere for it to land, so one of the crew was winched down with a stretcher. They helped to strap Dan onto the stretcher and he and the crewman were winched back up on board. Zoe stared at the helicopter as it flew away. Olafur gently squeezed her shoulder. "They will look after him. You can go to see him soon hm ?" Zoe still looked a little dazed, but she managed a nod.

Some men came and spoke with Olafur. One was wearing a police uniform. Gradually the chaos on the island subsided and the KORPS people remaining were collected together and shipped off the island. Olafur took Frank and the others back to his cabin. He insisted that they have something to eat and get some rest. Although it was still eerily light, it was the early hours of the morning. To everyone's amazement, Zoe went out like a light as soon as her head touched a pillow.

The following day, Aneisha was sitting beside Dan's hospital bed reading a magazine. The nurses had detached the wires which connected him to various heart monitors and they seemed happy with his progress. She glanced up and saw Dan's eyes were open, staring at her. He looked upset and tears came to his eyes. "Dan, what's the matter ?" asked an anxious Aneisha.

"Zoe !" he whispered. "They killed her."

"What ?" Aneisha remembered that Dan didn't know what had happened the previous night. "No, Dan. Zoe's been sitting here waiting for you to wake up for the last three hours. I sent her off to get herself a drink and a snack. Don't move ! I'll get her," she said, flinging her magazine down on the chair and half running out of the room. She came back with Zoe, as well as Tom and Frank.

Dan saw Zoe and the expression on his face changed to one of astonished delight. "Zoe !" he croaked. She leant over the bed and gently wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back.

"I'm fine," she said. "I thought they'd killed you .." she tailed off. There was the sound of surreptitious sniffing and eye-dabbing around the room before the two of them reluctantly broke apart.

Dan looked puzzled. "How ? How did you stay you ?" he asked. "They said they would put the Mastermind inside your body."

Zoe smiled and pulled a little box out of her pocket.

"Of course ! Brilliant !" exclaimed Tom, looking delighted. The others looked at him, baffled.

"Tom's Head's Up Contact Lenses," said Zoe. "Instead of the Mastermind's memories being projected in to my eyes, I spent the whole time reading Blade Quest. I couldn't see anything else. That's why I got in a muddle walking over to the mind machine." She stopped and raised her hand to her face. "I'm so sorry Dan," she whispered. He squeezed her hand and gazed happily at her face.

"What I don't understand is how Dan survived that last electrocution," said Aneisha. "It looked pretty vicious."

"Oh I can answer that," said Frank. "I spoke to the doctor." Frank showed them a melted piece of metal inside a plastic bag. "They found this round Dan's neck."

"My necklace and locket !" said Zoe. "It's all melted."

"It was round Dan's neck. The guard must have accidentally touched it in the dark. It took the main stream of electricity and fed it back on to the metal cage. It left a nasty burn," said Frank, pulling Dan's hospital gown slightly to show them a livid red burn circling Dan's neck. "It probably saved your life though Dan," he added.

"Did they catch the Mastermind ?" Tom asked.

"No, unfortunately the local boats weren't fast enough to catch the big KORPS craft. It is being tracked by satellite though. There is going to be an international hunt for it now. You achieved your mission goal team. You retrieved Zoe and Dan. Well done," said Frank, smiling happily at them all.

Dan was judged well enough to travel home later that day, although he had to suffer the indignity of being wheeled through the main airport in a wheelchair. MI9 had managed to book the two remaining first class seats on the flight, one of which was for Dan so that he could lie down and rest. The team decided the other one would be for Zoe. The others left them and went back to Business Class. Dan was already tired after the short walk from the departure lounge to the plane seat. He sat in his seat, waiting for the plane to take off.

"Zoe, I'm sorry about your locket," said Dan.

"It's alright, it doesn't matter," said Zoe.

"But, it was all you had," said Dan, looking at her anxiously.

"No it wasn't. I had the team and I had you. And now I've got you back again and that matters more than anything else," said Zoe, smiling gently at him. Dan smiled back happily.

The stewardesses were a little surprised at the young couple in First Class. They were obviously besotted with one another, but the boy spent the whole flight lying down fast asleep and the girl sat silently staring glassy-eyed into space and smiling to herself !


End file.
